What was once a sleek little cat is now a big, slow, cautious cat. I felt a little worried that the book was just bashing a kitty for getting older and enormous, because one of ours did that, the tuxedo, Calder Eno, and I wouldn't really enjoy fat cat-bashing. But no, that's not what it was on about at all. And I loved the art, because the tux looks so fluffy and cuddly. That is so perfectly valid art criticism, or I suppose, appreciation.

Library copy. ( )

The big idea of this silly book is that things are not always what they appear to be. This is shown through the eyes of a cat owner who is dumbfounded by a “new” cat that has replaced his “real” one, only to find that they are one and the same, but pregnant. I like this book for two reasons. First, the repetitive nature of the writing supports how the story compares and contrasts the owner’s current cat with the one he had. The repeated lines, “Is that my cat? It can’t be,” are followed by different characteristics of the “real” cat. One page reads, “Is that my cat? It can’t be. My cat is a fussy eater who never finishes her food.” The illustration shows otherwise. Second, I like how the illustrations look simple, yet serve to comically enhance the story. At one point, the cat’s owner talks about how his little cat can leap through the cat flap in the door. Meanwhile, the illustration shows a large cat squeezing through the flap in the door; the childlike artwork masterfully capturing an expression of strain on its face. ( )